Aqaba is an ancient port city and offers a gateway to diving parts of the northern Red Sea most divers miss. The area itself has experience extensive development in the last few years, all to the good, and access to Aqaba for tourists will improve as more charter flights are planned to serve Aqaba airport.There are seven registered dive centres in Aqaba including 3 PADI 5 Star IDC's.There are about 20 dive sites to visit by boat or shore offering a wide variety of topography in a small area. The Aqaba Marine Park covers most of the sites where fishing practices are banned so marine life is improving every year. Do not expect to see lots of large pelagics although sometimes you are lucky here. The beauty is in the variety of marine fauna and the general healthy state of the reefs plus a local population of Hawksbill turtles. Great for underwater photographers. Other attractions include the wreck of the Cedar Pride scuttled in 1985 for divers (10-25m);now rich in corals and a photogenic dream, an old army tank was scuttled in 1999 in just 6m which makes an interesting end to a dive. Tec divers will also be able to dive the newly discovered Red Sea wreck of the Taiyong lying in 35-57m; there are are also many other deep sites to satisfy the avid tecky!Saying that, the place is great for beginners as well with many great shallow sites. There is generally little current and the viz is usually in excess of 30m.From November through to Mid June at least a 5mm full suit should be used. From Mid June to end October a 3mm shorty will suffice.The Aqaba area offers a host of other non diving attractions the most famous being the ancient city of Petra and the desert at Wadi Rum. by Rod Abbotson PADI Course Director working here since 1993.

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